Ectomycorrhizal Associations of Australian Indigenous Plants

S ummary Besides species of Eucalyptus, Leptospermum, Casuarina and Pomaderris which are known to form ectomycorrhizas, many other Australian native plants may form ectomycorrhizal associations. The plants include many legumes, especially in the tribe Podalyrieae of the Fabaceae and Acacia in the Mimosaceae, all members of the Rhamnaceae examined, and species of such diverse genera as Opercuhria, Poranthera, Platysace, Goodenia and Stylidim. Many, perhaps most, of these ectomycorrhizal plants may also form endomycorrhizas of the VA type. The ectomycorrhizal species range from large forest trees to small non‐woody herbs. The associations vary from well‐defined mycorrhizas of the beech type to looser ones of a continuous or partial sheath, with or without a Hartig net. In soil low in available phosphate both typical and looser ectomycorrhizal associations markedly increased plant growth compared with that of uninoculated plants.